Box Butte County 4-H Newsletter

For those who have a High School Senior within the Box Butte County 4-H Program or have a Box Butte County 4-H Alumni attending a 2 or 4 year college, please consider completing a scholarship application! I have attached both the 4-H Alumni Scholarship and the High School Senior 4-H Scholarship Applications below (They are attached in Word or PDF form).

A committee will select 4 High School recipients (3 at $1000 and 1 at $500) and 2 Alumni (both $1000).

Both Scholarships will be due on Friday, April 12, 2024. Please submit the high school scholarship as a physical paper copy; hand delivered or mail to 415 Black Hills Ave, Alliance, NE 69301. The Alumni scholarship turned in as a physical copy or emailed to me astevens4@unl.edu.

If you have questions please contact the Extension Office.

The University of Nebraska – Lincoln Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center will again offer the “Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center Student Scholarship.” Two scholarships of $1000 each will be awarded. The application period will be open from March 1 to April 15, 2024.

To apply for the scholarship visit https://ssp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5C05tjKSe78aTUq. Along with filling out the online form a letter of recommendation must also be submitted and emailed to dmccarthy2@unl.edu. The email subject line should be “2024 Scholarship Recommendation Letter (Insert Name of Student).” The application will be considered incomplete without the letter.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Have attended high school in the Panhandle of Nebraska in one of the following counties:
• Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Cherry, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Garden, Grant, Hooker, Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sioux, and Thomas
• Be attending any of the Nebraska University Campuses, including Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.
• Majoring in Agronomy, Ag Economics, Animal Science, Vet Science, Agriculture Technology, or a related degree emphasizing agriculture.
• Be a graduating high school senior or in the first or second year of study.

Awards will be chosen by May 1, and applicants will be notified via email if selected.

For more information or questions, contact Deidra McCarthy at dmccarthy2@unl.edu or 308-632-1230.

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Nebraska Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture. Nebraska Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Alliance Clover Kids will meet on Thursday, April 11 from 4-5 at the Extension Office.

Hemingford Clover Kids will meet on Monday, April 29 from 4-5 at the MPH.

Come help assemble May Baskets for our county educators.

If you are interested in attending this clinic please contact us. There is a non-refundable deposit of $150 due by May 1st, please mail to the Box Butte County 4-H Council, 415 Black Hills Ave, Alliance NE 69301. Total cost of the clinic is $250, there is a scholarship available for Box Butte County Exhibitors.

Project Enrollment

Starting in the 2023-2024 program year, project selection is now optional. By successfully completing the 4-H member enrollment by the June 15th deadline, youth will be eligible to participate and exhibit in any project area, contest, county and state fairs. While project selection is optional, it is encouraged for youth to select projects they are interested in exploring.
Please note:

o Youth are only eligible to exhibit in a project area or contest in a single county.

o Horse and shooting sports projects will continue to require project enrollment due to the parental consent required to participate in these projects.

If youth ages 8-18 as of Jan 1 are showing beef, pigs, sheep or goats (this includes breeding, bucket calves and feeder calves), dairy cattle, dairy goats, poultry and/or rabbits at County fair, state fair, AKSARBEN or other shows, they need to complete the YQCA Certification.

There are 3 ways to complete this certification:

1. Youth can complete an online course. This course has 3 sections and youth must complete a quiz in each of the sections and pass with an 80% or better. If youth do not get at least an 80% they are locked out for an hour and should review material. This course also has a fee of $12 that must be paid online.
2. Youth can attend an Instructor Led Session put on by the Extension Office. Youth will attend in-person and actively participate through the 60 minute PowerPoint, as well as some hands on activities at the end. This session has a fee of $3 that must be paid online through the YQCA Website. We also ask that you pre-register through the YQCA website so we can make we have enough supplies for the hands on activities.
3. Youth could complete the Test Out option online at the Intermediate or Senior Level. These courses cost $36 & $48 respectively.

Please visit: https://yqcaprogram.org/ for more information, get registered and pay fees for the in-person course, or take the online course.

Dates for Instructor Led Trainings:

• Hemingford Monday, May 13, 2024 5:45-7:15pm

Deadline to complete YQCA is June 1st! YQCA Certificates need to be sent (astevens4@unl.edu) or returned to the office.

Please contact the Extension Office if you have more questions.

The Premier Communication Event and will be a two-day event held on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus on Monday, June 17th & Tuesday, June 18th. For more information visit: https://4h.unl.edu/premier-communication-event

Box Butte County 4-H will hold the Speech, PSA and Presentations Contest on Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 pm in Alliance at the Performing Arts Center. Contest will consist of youth from Box Butte, Dawes, and Sheridan counties. Youth will be judged in each county and separate awards will be given per county.

Registration forms are due to the Box Butte County Extension Office by Friday, April 5th!

Come join this fun evening learning more about your own personality traits as well as others personalities. We need at least 10 people to attend to make the event productive, but the more the better! For drinks there will also be tea, pop available for purchase.

If you have questions please reach out to the office.

We need people to register by April 17th so we can get the REAL COLORS books ordered!

TO REGISTER contact Ashley at the Extension Office 762-5616 or astevens4@unl.edu.

May Weigh-in for Sheep/Meat Goat & Pigs:

Market Lamb, Pig & Meat Goat: Thursday, May 16, 2024 from 6-7 PM

Market Lamb, Pig & Meat Goat: Thursday, May 23, 2024 from 6-7 PM

Box Butte County Fairgrounds

• On May 23, camp from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm will be offered for youth going into 3rd-5th grade. The camp is limited to 50 youth from four counties and will have a $40 fee.
• On May 24, camp from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm will be offered for youth ages 5-7. The camp is limited to 50 and will have a $40 fee. Youth will need to bring their swimming suits and towels to the May 24 camp.

Registrations are due by May 1. Turn them into the Extension Office as soon as possible! We wanted to promote this to 4-H families before we send the flyer home with local schools. The slots for both camps will fill up fast!

(Registration form is attached below)